Witherspoon later told the Hollywood Reporter that she started the company, now a subsidiary of Hello Sunshine, because she was frustrated with the "complete lack of interesting female leads in film." In 2014, she brought two of the first books optioned by the company to the big screen: Gillian Flynn's psychological thriller Gone Girl, and Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild.
Gone Girl was a box office hit; Wild landed Witherspoon, who starred as Strayed, her second Oscar nomination. (She won for Walk the Line in 2006.)
Last year, Witherspoon's reliable book recommendations gave us HBO's award-winning Big Little Lies, not to mention a forthcoming season that will star Meryl Streep. Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, her Big Little Lies co-producer and co-star, also optioned Lianne Moriarty's Truly Madly Guilty. And there are a slew of other projects in various stages of development. Witherspoon is producing and starring alongside Kerry Washington in a limited series adaptation of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, which received an eight-episode order from Hulu earlier this year.
Apple, which is priming to roll out a slate of original TV shows, has snagged three Witherspoon-produced series including Are You Sleeping, based on Kathleen Barber's true-crime novel and set to star Octavia Spencer. Witherspoon will also co-produce a 10-episode comedy with Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig, who will be the show's lead, and will co-produce and star alongside Jennifer Aniston in a drama about a morning show.
Hello Sunshine has also optioned Gail Honeyman's debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, and Catherine Steadman's Something in the Water.
Outside of film and TV, Witherspoon has Draper James, a lifestyle brand, which sells upscale clothing, housewares and - it was announced Monday -- eyewear.
"Our goal is to bring contemporary, yet timeliness Southern style to your wardrobe and your home," Witherspoon explains on the Draper James website.
And if all that wasn't enough, Witherspoon recently confirmed, in a cheeky Instagram, that there will be a third "Legally Blonde" movie.